Lesson Plan: The Louisiana Purchase

Students will be able to:
Answer various questions about the history of the Louisiana Purchase.
Think critically about why there would be opposition to the Louisiana Purchase.
Calculate the cost per square mile of the purchase.
Calculate the cost of the Louisiana Purchase today.

Process:
Students will use a KWL chart to show what they know and what they want to know about the Louisiana Purchase.
After reading the information given at http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-channel.asp?ChannelID=101 students will fill in what they've learned about the Louisiana Purchase.
Using the cartoon found at http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=300 students will think about what the cartoon is saying and think about reasons there might be some opposition to the Louisiana Purchase. Students will do this by think-pair-share.

Students will use the following document (image 2) to gather data about the price of the Louisiana purchase and the number of square miles that were purchased: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=18

Students will use that data to calculate the cost per square mile.
Students will also use that data and inflation rates to calculate what the Louisiana Purchase would cost today.

Students will turn in their KWL chart and calculations to be assessed.

Your lesson plan meets the requirements set forth in the assignment. You are excellent at meeting the different learning styles that you have in class. Integrated lessons are excellent in providing meaningful learning experiences that will enhance schema. Nice job!
Wendy Oresick